‘Not ducking’ – Jon Jones gives fiery online rant in response to Tom Aspinall and retirement rumours
Jon Jones has embarked on a wild social media rant in response to thousands of MMA fans.
Jones retained his heavyweight title at UFC 309 against Stipe Miocic this month, amid criticism from fans regarding Tom Aspinall.
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UFC 309 was headlined by Jones vs Miocic, but throughout fight week, most fans had Aspinall’s name on the tip of their tongues.
Aspinall is the current UFC interim heavyweight champion and has been calling for a fight with Jones for months to no avail.
‘Bones’ has made it his mission to downplay a potential heavyweight division unification fight with Aspinall and continued to shun the Manchester native this week.
On Friday morning, the 37-year-old posted a cryptic message online talking about his competition, while wishing his fans a Happy Thanksgiving.
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“While you’re enjoying the day, eating junk, blazing up, and grinding on video games,” he said on the platform .
“Just remember: your competition probably put in some sort of work today and is already scheming how to conquer 2025.
“Food for thought…Success isn’t luck; It’s a decision and the discipline to stick to it. Happy Thanksgiving!”
This sparked a bombardment of responses from MMA fans, all seeking answers from the heavyweight champ.
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One responded to the post saying: “Success is when you stop ducking,” and this certainly struck a nerve with Jones, who proceeded to give a wild prediction for Aspinall’s UFC future.
“Sure, call me duck for the next year,” Jones said. “Eventually Tom will lose within the next two or three fights and my legacy will go on as the greatest MMA fighter ever. End of story.”
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Another X user replied to the original post to ask if the New York native was retiring and Jones simply said: “I’d probably vacate the belt before officially retiring.
"Let’s see how my meeting with UFC goes.”
Both Jones and Aspinall have spoken out since UFC 309 to admit that they were in negotiations with UFC CEO Dana White and senior management about their futures.
Aspinall has cleared out the entire heavyweight division to date and the expectation in the immediate aftermath of UFC 309 was that Jones would defend his belt against the Brit next.
But, ‘Bones’ has shown little interest in taking up the challenge and confirmed after the Madison Square Garden card that he would prefer a fight with UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira.
The MMA legend, who only has one UFC defeat during his 16-year career, continued to stir the pot online, clearly feeling the heat from fans.
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“Crazy how being called a ‘duck’ pays better than most of you internet tough guys will make in a lifetime,” Jones added.
“Two fights in four years and still one of the biggest names in the sport? That’s not ducking, that’s winning.
“God’s blessings hit different, stay mad.”
Jones went on to add that the ‘playground insults’ from fans don’t ‘hit quite the same at 37’, but there was clearly something that got to the heavyweight champion after his series of exclamations.
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UFC President White said at the press conference for Jones vs Miocic that the winner should ‘absolutely’ face Aspinall in their next bout.
However, there has been no official confirmation yet, with any announcements expected at the start of 2025.
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